Alone in the World
by Syaoran and Dracen Uchiha
Summary: Sasuke finds Naruto after a deadly battle. As Naruto begins to fade, Sasuke admits something he's held back for years. Then his world shatters again, and he's left alone in the world. Character death. SasuNaru. One-shot


A/N: A short one-shot on SasuNaru. Something that I wrote for the fun of it. Revised. It's set after the defeat of Pain. After an attack by Madara and Kabuto.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto does.

**Alone in the World**

"Naruto!" I ran faster. The silence was deafening. He couldn't have hurt himself. He couldn't have gotten hurt that badly. Naruto maybe was the most reckless ninja I ever met, but that didn't mean he couldn't protect himself. _Or at least I thought. Why did I even care in the first place? Oh yeah. I loved him for years. But my ego and pride won't let me admit it. _An ambush by Madara and Kabuto had torn our group apart. Shikamaru and Neji were nowhere to be seen, as well as Tenten and Hinata. I cursed, knowing that if I had been careful, this wouldn't have happened. I didn't even get the chance to kill Itachi. Though I did manage to take down Deidara.

I leapt between the trees, and activated my Sharingan, hoping to detect something from Naruto. That dobe must've gotten into something big. I looked around. Then I felt something. A blast of chakra washed over me. Ahead, I saw him. But it wasn't the usual blonde hyperactive knucklehead I saw. It was the Kyuubi, in its four tail stage. Facing him were Madara, Kabuto, and some other resurrected members. I felt the killer's intent radiating from him, cold and unforgiving, a feeling I was accustomed to feeling, but didn't expect from someone who was willing to do as much as he could to protect his teammate.

"Naruto…" Just as I prepared to leap forward and help, another presence appeared behind me. I stiffened. _Itachi…_

_Flashback:_

"_Nii-san!" A seven-year old Sasuke ran through the house, racing for the door, where he knew Itachi was going to be. _

"_Slow down, Sasuke. I don't need you to crash anywhere." Mikoto's voice rang from the kitchen. Sasuke slowed down a bit, but kept going. When he rounded the corner, he saw Itachi come through the door. _

"_Nii-san!" Sasuke crashed into Itachi, and hugged him. Itachi smiled and patted him._

"_Did okaa-san see your fireball jutsu yet?"_

"_Yeah. He said it was good. But I don't think okaa-san is impressed." Itachi's face softened at Sasuke's crestfallen face. But his face brightened._

"_Can you teach me something today?"_

"_Sasuke." Sasuke looked up expectantly, only to be poked in the forehead by Itachi._

"_I'll bring you training tomorrow. I'm a little busy today. Now go play or something." Sasuke pouted, but ran off to the park. Itachi smiled gently._

"Itachi." He smirked in response.

"What a nice greeting for your older brother. You're still as weak as ever. You don't have any chance of defeating me. You don't have enough hate." I scowled, and lunged at him with the katana raised, crackling with chidori. Steel met steel, and the fight began. I could only hope that Naruto would hang on.

xxxxxxxxxx

The last clash was heard ringing through the woods. I leapt back, breathing hard, and I faced Itachi. My eyes narrowed unforgivably, and my blood started boiling when he smiled.

"You bastard!" Itachi only smiled.

"You already killed me. Right now, I have something more important to attend to. I suggest you go check on him." He disappeared in a flurry of crows and ravens, and I was left battered, and weakened. I had killed him a long time ago, but I suppose that ignoring Madara and returning to Konoha once again was a bad idea. I heard a distant scream, and snapped back to reality. Thunder sounded in a distance, and when I looked up, the sky was grey, and a single drop fell on my face.

"Naruto…." I whispered. I ran, with the speed that only the Uchiha were graced with, towards Naruto. I promised Sakura that I would protect him. It began to rain gently, and drops splattered everywhere. But when I got there, I was met with a grisly scene. There were blood, guts, and gore splattered all over the place. The foliage was almost completely wiped out, and in it's place was a barren wasteland. The stench of blood and death was everywhere. Naruto stood, swaying, and smiling, in the center of destruction and death. There were several kunai still embedded in his thigh, and gashes of different severity covered his body. His jacket was torn to shreds, and beneath, scarlet rivers still flowed. Nearby, a dead, monstrous snake lay dead, head severed, and body punctuated with bloody holes. Madara also lay dead; mask fractured and face a bloody pulp. The bodies of the resurrected also lay on the ground. Naruto turned to face me, a smile on his battered and bloody face. There was a katana still in his chest, right through his heart, and blood trickling down the the sharp edge. He shuddered, then crumpled.

"Naruto!" I ran over, and cradled his body. He looked up weakly, and smiled. The rain slowly washed off the blood that covered him. The red was slowly diltuted into into a pale, rose hue, then washed away.

"I did it Sasuke. I killed them. They're no longer a threat." Naruto coughed, and blood splattered on his soaked orange jacket. He smiled.

"Why did you do this alone? You know that there would be something bad. I promised Sakura that I would take care of you." I sobbed openly into his already soaked jacket.

_Flashback: _

_Sasuke and Naruto both barged through the foliage. They ran to the battle site after beating Hidan and Kazuku. However, instead of seeing Sakura standing, they saw her crumpled, prone form on the ground. _

"_Sakura!" A hoarse cry ripped through Naruto's throat. Sasuke stiffened, and followed Naruto to Sakura. She stirred feebly. He knelt down, and picked her up. She opened her emerald eyes._

"_Sorry Naruto, Sasuke. I wasn't strong enough to take down Kisame. I did manage to injure him. But I don't think I'll live to see the next sunrise." She coughed more blood, and it splattered down her bloodstained shirt. Naruto started sobbing. Sasuke felt tears gather._

"_Sasuke. Take care of Naruto. Please. Don't let him die. I love you both. Go on living." With that, Sakura shuddered, and took her last breath. Her eyes closed, emerald depths that would never gaze upon anything else. Naruto let a cry of anguish, and Sasuke let the tears fall. They lost one comrade. One of the many they would lose later in war. That day, Sasuke vowed to keep Sakura's death wish._

_xxxxxxxxxx_

"Forget the promise, teme. I did what I had to." I nearly punched him. He didn't know how much this affected me. Naruto couldn't leave me.

"You can't leave me. You can't." Cerulean eyes met onyx.

"Why, Sasuke? You know that everyone has to die someday. My time's now. That's all. Why do you need me?" Naruto looked confused. I shook my head. I didn't know. I just needed him.

When my clan was murdered, my life shattered. It was slowly pieced together when I met Naruto and Sakura. But gradually, I managed to pick all the pieces back up and fix it. But when Sakura died, it cracked, and never did heal. It started to crack even more when I lost more comrades and friends during the war. If I lost Naruto, then life would be just as bad. But why did I need him? The unknown feeling crept up again. It felt good, but I didn't know what it was. Then it struck me. It was love. I loved him dearly.

"Naruto." He looked up. I smiled gently.

"I need you here." He shook his head.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why. You're a horrible friend, dobe."

"Just tell me before I die of frustration."

I nearly choked on the words as I spoke.

"I love you." Naruto's eyes widened. He smiled a pained grin.

"That's why all those years, you always were there for me. Either way, teme. You're a horrible friend. I love you too." I cracked a smile. He sighed. I realized it was too late to get help. He would be dead by the time I got reinforcements. My life was beginning to fall apart. Walls of certainty began to fall and crumble.

"Naruto."

"I'm going to see Sakura, Kiba, and Chouji again. I might even see Kakashi sensei again." I shook my head, trying to deny what was going to happen. Naruto's face brightened a bit.

"Naruto." This time it was a whisper.

"Live on, Sasuke. Make us proud. I'll always be cheering on for you. When you join us, we can remain rivals, forever. Just live while you can, Sasuke. Take care."

He placed something in my hand. Naruto sighed, and his eyes closed. His heart stopped bleeding. His pulse stopped. Blood stopped pouring out of his fatal wounds. He was dead. The realization washed over me as it began to rain harder.

My world shattered, into a million tiny fragments that would never be put together again. Everything I had and treasured was lost. I let loose a cry of anguish. The pain that clawed at me, and I cried. The rain poured down harder, and reminded me of our battle in the Valley of the End. But this time, Naruto was dead. For the first time in years, I felt emotions flooding me. Regret that I couldn't save him. Pain of losing him. There was no point in living anymore. Life was cruel, and I was just something that was caught up in its vortex. I slowly picked up Naruto's prone form, and leapt into the trees. I turned, and ran, tears trailing down my face, mingling with the rain, not heeding where I was going, but going somewhere away from death. I'll return, but not now. For now, I needed to live, even if I was alone in this world. I promised him that I would live. The rain continued, as if mourning the death of Naruto. The dobe I've known for years. The Jinchuuruki, the hero of Konoha. My best friend. Now, I was alone. I knew that I couldn't keep running forever, but when death did catch up to me, I'll go gladly, just to be reunited with Naruto.

A/N: This is the revised chapter, not the original. Stuff has been changed.


End file.
